Waddley's next adventure takes him to the People’s Republic of China on the continent of Asia and one of the biggest countries in the world. China has many types of climates and lands from tropical forests, home of the giant panda, to Asia’s largest desert, the Gobi, to the Himalayan mountain range with the world’s highest peaks. China also has two of the longest rivers in the world: the Yangtze and the Yellow, along which Chinese civilization started over 5,000 years ago.

Join Waddley On His ​New Adventure:

Off The Wall In China

Waddley Sees The World books are available at Amazon plus e-books for the kindle and iPad and Barnes & Noble for the nook.

How can a bird and a bear look so alike?

One of the amazing Chinese artforms that Waddley, Lexi and Sam enjoy is shadow puppetry. These puppets are behind the screen on stage, projected with lights.

Waddley's New Friends

Australia: An Island Country​

WADDLEY SEES THE WORLD

Many countries have deserts, but The Pinnacles in western Australia is most unusual. Tall spires poke out of the sand dunes, creating a gigantic forest of rock pillars—Sam and his friends Lexi and Sam play hide-and-seek there!

​Even though Australia is surrounded by water, instead of being called the biggest island in the world, it’s considered the smallest continent, one of the seven major landmasses on our planet and the only one that is its own country.

​Australia is divided into six states and two large areas called territories. Sydney is the capital of New South Wales, one of the states on the Pacific Ocean. Its most famous symbol is the Opera House where concerts and other performances are given. Bright red water ferries carry people from one part of the seaside city to another.

This koala is just one of the animals Waddley meets in Australia. He has a close encounters with sea lions and seals. Want to hear about the difference between them? A sea lion's ears have flaps, and the seal's do not!

The tiger quoll is about the size of a cat and has spots, not tiger stripes. ​

The emu is the tallest bird in the country and the second tallest in the world after the ostrich.

​There are also almost 500 species of lizards there, more than on any other continent. In fact, you’re more likely to see a lizard than any other animal. The shingle-backed skink is one of six types with a blue tongue. Its scales have the look of a pinecone, and its tail is shaped just like its head to fool predators. The frilled neck lizard is also very unique; when it puffs itself up to scare off attackers, it looks like it’s wearing a big paper fan around its neck.

Another favorite webcam airs from at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. You can watch the African blackfooted penguins from 7am to 5 pm Pacific Time and catch feedings in the morning and afternoon. Look carefully to see how they communicate with each other. According to the Aquarium experts, when penguins flap their wings or bow their heads, they're telling each other how they feel. Throwing their heads back and wings out means "I'm happy." Leaning forward and opening their beaks means "Go away."

Want to see penguins live but aren't near their natural habitat? There are wonderful aquariums with penguin colonies across the US and around the world. The New England Aquarium in Boston is home to 80 penguins from three different species. To help you become experts, you'll get a booklet on Penguinology" as you arrive.

To see penguins without ever leaving your home, check out the webcams from some of the world's best aquariums and zoos. Scotland's Edinburgh Zoo has two different penguin cams. One shows penguins in their land habitat. The other is the underwater penguin cam that lets you watch them dive and swim! On a visit to the Edinburgh Zoo, you can see the famous penguin parade with Kings, Gentoos and Rockhoppers (Waddley's relatives) who can leave their enclosure and walk around the parade route with their keepers. The penguin parade is voluntary—that means it's up to the penguins if they want to take part!